If You Liked George Bush, You Will LOVE Mitt Romney's Foreign Policy

Mitt
Romney rolled out his foreign policy platform this morning —
and it looks remarkably familiar.

Addressing cadets at South Carolina's Citadel
military academy, Romney attacked President Obama for forfeiting
U.S. military and economic primacy and promised to restore
America's global dominance by increasing defense spending and
taking a more aggressive approach toward global threats.

Here's an excerpt from his speech:

"This century must be an American Century. In an American
Century, America has the strongest economy and the strongest
military in the world. In an American Century, America leads the
free world and the free world leads the entire world. God did not
create this country to be a nation of followers. America is not
destined to be one of several equally balanced global
powers. America must lead the world, or someone else will.
Without American leadership, without clarity of American purpose
and resolve, the world becomes a far more dangerous place, and
liberty and prosperity would surely be among the first
casualties....

...This is very simple: If you do not want America to be the
strongest nation on Earth, I am not your President. You have that
President today."

If that sounds a lot like a page out of the George W. Bush
playbook, that's because it basically is. Romney's foreign policy
team is stacked deep with former Bush administration officials,
and his platform adheres closely to their hardline — and
occasionally controversial — view of American exceptionalism.
Even the venue of Romney's speech harkens back to the Bush era —
George W. Bush rolled out his first foreign policy campaign
platform at the Citadel in 2000.

The Romney plan lays out eight actions that he will take during
his first 100 days in office to roll back Obama's policies and
"set a new tone" for America. Here's a rundown:

Build a bigger Navy. Romney also promised to reverse Obama's
"massive defense cuts," a reference to the $350 billion spending
cuts included in this summer's debt ceiling deal.

"Strengthen and repair relationships with steadfast allies" —
namely Israel, the United Kingdom, and Mexico. Romney promises to
reduce aid to Palestinians if they keep trying to pursue
statehood at the UN. He also says he will enhance military
cooperation with Mexico, but it is unclear how a border fence
will help "repair" relations.

Take a harder line against Iran. Romney says he will "make
clear that the military option is one the table" and step up
military aid to Israel. He also rejects diplomatic engagement as
an option.